IT WAS WIDELY REPORTED EARLIER THIS YEAR
that the so-called Doomsday Clock was moved closer to midnight by the
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.[ 1] It is 2½ minutes till midnight “largely
because of the statements of a single person … the new president of the
United States” board members reported, closer than at any point since
1953—and so, according to the Bulletin, we are closer to doomsday and
the end of human period on earth.

Doomsday as a scenario is not of much interest to insurers. No one
is willing to pay a premium for a bene;t for which no one would be le;
to receive. ;us, there is little point in assigning a dollar value to it. Yet
such a scenario is arguably more important than any risk facing the Earth.

While atomic and nuclear destruction have been the focus of the
Doomsday Clock and its Bulletin technicians, the world has increasingly
recognized other emerging threats to humanity. Geopolitics, overpopulation, religious fanaticism, wealth concentration, pandemic/health
care risks, climate change/global warming—all are threats to humanity.
;ese forces are not likely to destroy the world, but each of these risks
has the potential to destabilize the planet in ways that increase the threat
of nuclear annihilation. Furthermore, a convolution of these risk factors
may increase risk in unforeseen ways.

As an actuary, the risks we evaluate daily have a direct bearing on
political discussion, and therefore on the risk of global destabilization
and doomsday. What follows is a brief summary of those risks and
how they might destabilize the planet such that a doomsday scenario
becomes possible.